Page 58 of Hidden
“But…” Damen hadn’t looked upset. He’d been all charm and smiles. “He was flirting with me.”
“Damen flirts to cover his nervousness.” Miles leaned against the sink, studying me with darkened eyes. “He does it to redirect people from his true intentions. You could spend lifetimes attempting to figure out the source of his passion, never to realize you were looking at the wrong place the whole time. He must be terrified right now. He’s never had such an obvious weakness.”
His words almost sounded like a warning. I swallowed. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t want to talk about Damen anymore.” Miles changed the subject. “I’m wondering, what would you do if I became angry?”
A trickle of confusion passed through me. “You get angry?”
Miles frowned, almost looking offended. “You saw me fighting my teammates at practice… or did you leave before that?”
“Oh…” I bit my lip, glancing away.
That was true, I did see him bodyslam a teammate into the dirt. But how could I tell him… “I did see that.”
“Oh no.” Miles expression changed into concern, and he rubbed his hands down my arms. “I scared you with that? I’m so sorry.”
“No, you didn’t scare me.” Perhaps I should mention it? He seemed so upset; his eyes searched my face in trepidation. “Your form is wrong. And the way you tossed the other guy through the air could be improved.”
“What?” Miles dropped his hands, his eyes widening.
I nodded, a plan already beginning to form. Someone had to tell him, and I guess the person chosen for that task would be me.
“Maria wants to go to a WWE match,” I told him. “You should come. You lack passion when you fight. It’ll be educational to watch a professional.”
“Wait.” He frowned at me. “Youwantme to fight?”
“Not particularly.” I touched my chin, studying him. Miles had a bodybuilder’s physique, so he looked formidable. Yet, he lacked the sincerity in wanting to murder his opponent. If I didn’t toughen him up, he’d be a target for the rest of his life.
He was so sweet, so kind.
I would bet anything that people took advantage of him. They either took advantage of his kindness, or they flat out bullied him. This was how stalkers targeted sincere men. I hadn’t forgotten about the women picking on him during his soccer practice.
I would have to save him before something terrible happened. Before I needed to hurt someone again.
It was my job to help him.
“You should hang out with me while we’re at school. It’s safer that way.” I tapped my chin. “Then we can begin your training.”
“What training?” Miles didn’t sound amused, or happy, anymore. “And didn’t we already establish that you’re escorting me to my classes?”
I wasn’t sure what training yet. Maria might have some ideas; she was tough.
“We’ll see…” I noted his wary expression. “You’ll like it. Let’s do our homework together later, okay?”
Miles frowned, stubbornness bleeding into his face.
“I don’t want…” he began, but then his words trailed off. The stubbornness gave way to contemplation. “You want to do homework together?”
Something in his voice caused my heart to skip.
“You’ll have French!” he sounded so happy. “We can email your professor to get your assignments.”
Crap on a cracker!
My breathing had caught in my throat. How was I supposed to tell Miles I was dropping French for Chinese? This was horrible. The only way to avoid hurting his feelings was to pretend to take French forever.
But there was a problem with that plan—I wasn’t getting out of doing any work this way.
